“THE LOST SHTETL”. OPENING THE NEWS MUSEUM IN ŠEDUVA
LITHUANIA
The Lost Shtetl Museum
On September 20, the Šeduva Jewish History Museum “Lost Shtetl” will officially open its doors. As the largest museum in the Baltics dedicated to shtetl culture and history, it will offer free admission during its first year, allowing visitors to explore the exhibits, take guided tours, and participate in educational activities. Next to the museum, guests will also find the newly unveiled Memory Park – a striking living memorial designed by Italian landscape architects Enea Landscape Architecture, honoring the memory of Šeduva’s once-vibrant Jewish community.
“The museum’s opening to the public and its first visitors mark the culmination of a long and collaborative journey involving hundreds of individuals – experts, creatives, and historians from Lithuania, the United States, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, and Switzerland. On behalf of the entire team, I want to thank everyone of – each contribution that has helped reconstruct the lost shtetl of Šeduva, restoring the faces and names of a community that once lived here and was tragically destroyed. This is the core mission of the museum – and I hope every visitor leaves carrying at least one name, one story of someone who once lived here. May these names never be forgotten again,” says Jonas Dovydaitis, Director of The Lost Shtetl museum.
A Decade-Long Project of Remembrance
The creation of this museum dedicated to preserving shtetl culture and memory has spanned over a decade. The idea was developed and realized by an international team of historians, architects, and Jewish cultural experts.
Innovative curatorial solutions were harmonized with the architectural vision of renowned Finnish architect Rainer Mahlamäki. The museum structure resembles a small town, its rooftops visible from afar across the flat Lithuanian landscape. While architecturally unified, the museum encompasses a series of distinct exhibition halls beneath the gabled roofs of “individual houses,” each designed to house a specific part of the exhibition.
The exhibition design was created by Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), a U.S.-based firm known for designing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. For this project, the RAA team drew inspiration from Grigory Kanovich’s novel “Shtetl Love Song,” which tells the story of another lost shtetl – Jonava.
A Walk Through a Town That No Longer Exists
The word “shtetl” is rarely heard today, yet over 200 shtetls once dotted the Lithuanian landscape just over 80 years ago. Derived from Yiddish, the word means “small town” – and it is how Jews referred to their local communities. These were not separate enclaves but the same towns and villages also inhabited by Lithuanians.
“For centuries, Lithuanians and Jews lived side by side in these towns – but the Holocaust obliterated Lithuania’s Jewish population. With their destruction, the shtetl disappeared as well,” says Sandra Petrukonytė, the museum’s Chief Curator.
According to her, the museum’s very name – The Lost Shtetl – encapsulates its essence: it tells the story of what no longer exists. “You cannot recount the history of the Šeduva shtetl without speaking of how the Jewish community that lived here was annihilated.”
The museum's exhibition spans ten galleries, beginning with an introductory film tracing the arrival of Jews to the territory of present-day Lithuania and their life here until World War I.
“We want visitors to understand from the outset that Jews lived alongside Lithuanians for centuries – arriving in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century, settling near estates and in towns at the invitation of nobles, engaging in trade, crafts, and tax administration. Over time, a unique shtetl civilization emerged – stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea – made up of thousands of small towns where Jewish communities spoke Yiddish, practiced Judaism, and lived according to the Talmud. Yet they were never isolated – always living alongside Lithuanians, Poles, Latvians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians,” explains Petrukonytė.
A Journey into Interwar Šeduva
The main part of the exhibition focuses on the interwar period, World War II, and its aftermath. Visitors are invited to explore the Šeduva shtetl of that era. Through immersive displays, the community of interwar Šeduva comes alive. The largest gallery recreates the town’s Market Square – not just a commercial hub, but a space for civic and cultural life.
“Visitors to The Lost Shtetl are invited on a journey through time – stepping into a version of interwar Šeduva where Jews and Lithuanians lived side by side. We encourage visitors to discover the Jewish community of Šeduva, learn about its religious and social life, migration stories, professions, and aspirations,” says Petrukonytė.
She emphasizes that the exhibition explores universal human themes – the search for safety, a better life for one’s family, dreams, ambitions, and even leisure choices.
“In the vibrant Market Square, our first story is about life – and I believe life in Šeduva was rich and colourful. We hope visitors encounter the individuals presented in the exhibition as intriguing companions, kindred spirits, or even potential friends – to dream with them, create with them, love with them,” she adds.
The Darker Chapter of the Narrative
But the life of Šeduva, like that of all of Lithuania, was irreversibly altered by Soviet occupation and the Nazi invasion that followed. In the summer of 1941, Šeduva’s Jewish community was forced into a temporary labor camp. On August 25–26, Nazi forces and local collaborators murdered 664 men, women, and children in the Liaudiškiai Forest, just a few kilometers from Šeduva – nearly the entire Jewish population of the town.
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